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Friday, October 28, 2011

Recap of San Diego California's Sex Favors for No DUI Prosecution Offers resumes Monday as attorneys battle it out with interesting testimony

"Sex" favor for no - DUI deals starts up again Monday.

In opening statements, Deputy District Attorney Sherry Thompson had told a jury the Gaslamp Quarter was a "board" for a game played by San Diego Police Department officer Arevalos called "'What Can You Offer Me?'" He used his position of authority to barter and trade sexual favors from purported female DUI offenders.

Also at the start of this case, San Diego California Criminal Defense lawyer Jan Ronis explained to the jury they should keep an open mind because the women were under the influence of alcohol when they were contacted by San Diego Police Department's man on trial. That could "skew" both perception of events and memories of the witnesses.

A number of the women filed claims against the city of San Diego; 2 were arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence after allegations against the SDPD cop were made.

Here's yesterday's highlights:

The nursing student stopped and suspected of DUI by former San Diego police officer Arevalos who is accused of trying to elicit sexual favors from women he stopped in the Gaslamp testified he asked her if she could "show him something" after she begged him not to arrest her for DUI. She said he made her blow into a breathalyzer after she did 2 FST's. He told her that she failed the breath test and wondered what she would do in exchange for not going to jail. She offered the officer money, but he asked her if she would do anything "out of the books" or "under the table." When it became clear he didn't want money, Arevalos asked "If I could show him something." She agreed, and Arevalos told her to drive to another location around the corner, and he followed. The woman said Arevalos again asked if she could show him something, but she gave him a bogus phone number instead. "I said, 'Call me sometime,' and I left," the woman testified.

The woman is one of seven women prosecutors plan to call in the case, some of whom were arrested for DUI and some who were allegedly sexually assaulted and let go.

Arevalos was with the San Diego Police Department for 18 years before being fired earlier this year after the filing of charges, including assault under the color of authority, sexual battery by restraint, false imprisonment and soliciting or receiving a bribe.

Exposure: 19 years in prison if convicted of 21 felony counts.

Earlier in the case, the prosecutor said "Jane Doe" had just ridden on a Mardi Gras float and was trying to get to work when Arevalos pulled her over, DA Thompson said. The young woman was panicked and hyperventilating. "He says, 'Calm down, there are other options.'" "She doesn't know what to do, and the negotiations begin." Arevalos ended up rubbing her private parts in a 7-Eleven bathroom. The GPS confirmed the officer's presence at the convenience store, and employees identified him.

Thompson said another alleged victim flashed her breasts at Arevalos, and he rubbed under the underwear and bra of a third woman. There's more to come.